High-risk medication use was measured for Medicare beneficiaries who were age 65-99 on January 1 of the measurement year enrolled in Parts A and B and also continuously enrolled in a stand-alone Part D plan (based on a 40% random sample). Patients enrolled in risk-bearing HMOs at any time during the year and patients with hospice claims were excluded.

NUMERATOR DEFINITION:

High-risk medications examined were those identified on the HEDIS list by the NCQA as generally conferring more risk than benefit in older people.

The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care is based at The Dartmouth Institute for Health
Policy and Clinical Practice and is supported by a coalition of funders led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
including the WellPoint Foundation, the United Health Foundation, the California HealthCare Foundation, and the Charles H. Hood Foundation.